Chapter 7
In the bathroom, Seraphina briefly straightened herself in the mirror, looked at her wrinkled dress and deliberately pulled the neckline down a bit before leaving the room.
The room she stayed was on the second floor, a quiet haven, but she could hear some noise from downstairs. As she descended the stairs, she got a clearer view of the layout below.
In the spacious living room, a boy of about six was sitting cross–legged on the couch with a book on his lap that was bigger than his own body, flipping through it with deep concentration. The boy noticed Seraphina’s footsteps, looked up at her with clear and calm eyes. Seraphina silently pulled her neckline back up.
According to her intel, Balch and his late wife didn’t have children. So, who was this boy? Why was he in Balch’s house?
“Hello!” She walked over, sat next to the boy and smiled, “Whos are you?”
The boy glanced at her again, his eyes quite beautiful, but expressionless, and didn’t answer her question.
It was such a cool child. Seraphina crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow, “Are you scared of me because I’m too pretty?”
Not only did the boy not answer, he furrowed his brows. He seemed annoyed by Seraphina’s interruption, closed his book, hugged it and got up to head towards the dining table.
Seeing this, Seraphina didn’t bother him anymore and started surveying the house. The decor was pretty standard, devoid of any personal touches or interests, and void of any photos. As Seraphina’s gaze landed back on the boy, the kitchen door swung open and a voice came out, “You’re awake?”
Seraphina turned to see a familiar face.
Karan, the longtime housekeeper for the Reynolds family, Leandro’s nanny, had a deep relationship with the Reynolds.
“Karan?” Seraphina was surprised.
Karan’s face was expressionless as she set a bowl of soup on the dining table before looking at Seraphina, “I thought it might be you when I saw Leandro bring you home last night, but I didn’t look closely. I didn’t expect it to actually be you.”
Seraphina felt slightly dizzy.
She looked at Karan and then at the boy reading behind her, “Whose house is this?”
“This is Leandro’s.” Karan replied, “Didn’t you know this is his house when you came home with him last night?”
With that, Karan turned back to the kitchen.
Seraphina felt a sudden headache, pressing her forehead. This was Leandro’s house, but she clearly went home with Balch last night, why was she at Leandro’s? And why was there a little boy at Leandro’s?
Seraphina looked at the boy, her hungover brain unable to process all this.
Karan came out of the kitchen again with two more plates, not looking at Seraphina, just saying, “Dinner’s ready, let’s eat.”
Seraphina paused a moment before unceremoniously getting up and sitting across from the boy at the table, resting her chin on her hand as she studied him.
The boy seemed to notice her gaze, his page–turning becoming a bit awkward, but he didn’t look back at Seraphina.
Karan came out with a bowl of soup and saw this scene, shooting Seraphina an annoyed look, “What are you looking at? Don’t scare him!”
Hearing this, Seraphina pouted, “Karan, am I really that scary?”
Karan stared at her for a moment, then shot her a glare and turned back to the kitchen.
Seraphina knew well that Karan didn’t like her.
The women of the Reynolds family disliked her and, in their words, her looks were a nuisance. Besides, after what happened later…
Seraphina quickly put a stop to those thoughts as Karan was bringing out three bowls of soup, telling the boy, “Valerio, stop reading, it’s time to eat.”
Seraphina took the bowl Karan passed her, casually asking, “Karan, whose kid is this?”
“Whose kid could it be?” Karan answered with a flat expression, “In Leandro’s house, of course it’s Leandro’s
kid.”
Seraphina’s hand slipped, and the bowl in her hand fell, flipping over on the dining table.
